Who needs sleep when there are games to be played?

PAX (Penny Arcade Expo) is a series of gaming conventions started by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik, the team behind the ultra-popular webcomic Penny Arcade. The first PAX was held in Washington, but grew so quickly in popularity that it is now held in Seattle, Boston, and starting this year, Melbourne. (That’s Australia, folks.)

I wasn’t able to attend PAX last year (since I’m a little more comic-crazy than I am game-crazy) so this year was the first year I could go! People travel quite a ways for PAX– I talked to people from Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia– but for me, I just had to hop onto the T. Maybe there is a reason I decided to come to school in cold, cold Boston.

As a result, three-day passes sold out in 24 hours this year. I managed to snag only a Saturday pass. Good thing I have awesome friends.

Um, hellz yeah.

So after I got out of work on Friday, I headed straight to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. No costume, mind you– just some Asian girl in her civies checkin’ out what this PAX thing was all about.

And I walked in.

To this:

That photo’s not even half of the exhibition hall. This place was huge. All the big game companies– Nintendo, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, they were all there. PAX isn’t just about video games, though. Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering had their own huge booths. Hardware companies like Turtle Beach, Asus, and Kingston had their own thing going. Up-and-coming start-ups, indie developers, and local game companies had their own stands as well. Throw in all sorts of stands selling board games, game-themed t-shirts, Pokemon cards, hats, buttons, stickers, jewelry, and you have…

Well, you have me doing this.

I was overwhelmed. The crowds, the noise, and the sheer amount of super-awesome gaming stuff completely bowled me over. I meandered through the hall in a daze.

I came with a mission, though. After a half-hour of wandering around, I headed to the line for Friday’s concert. Despite getting in line two hours early, the line was already long.

Wait, two hours?

PAX is notorious for having huge lines. When a convention is this big, it happens. For the big panels and big game releases, people will wait hours just to try the demo or see their favorite game developers. But being in line is part of the experience.

One of the great things about conventions is how friendly everyone is. People often relate it to being in a hall full of strangers who are also your best friends. It’s kind of true. No matter the age, background, gender, religion, there was one thing for sure at PAX: everyone loved games. In fact, compared to everyone else, I felt like I hadn’t been gaming enough.

That day, I woke up at 6 in the morning (for work) and ended up going to sleep at 3. It’s fine. It was totally worth it– the concert was awesome.

Though, come to think of it, maybe I should have slept more.

I still had a full day to go.

On Saturday, I decided to take my dorkiness to the next level. PAX isn’t really big on cosplay. Probably because a big event like PAX attracts a more general crowd– people are more likely to be less hardcore.

But, meh.

I had a darn costume and I was going to use it.

…even though I think I horribly embarrassed my friend.

Waiting for the train.

This time I actually had time to do what I wanted. First, I headed to the Make a Strip panel, where the creators of Penny Arcade actually draw a strip live for the audience! This year was a little different, too. Usually the comic is pre-planned. But this year, they took topics from the audience and chose two at random to make a strip with.

And they actually did it. You can find the completed strip here. As you’d expect, it’s a little NSFW.

And then I finally got to explore the Expo Hall in all of its glory.

One thing I didn’t know about PAX? The freebies. The $40 I paid for my pass was probably compensated in random free stuff. Here, have a photo:

This necklace is actually kind of cool.

So I don’t actually play League of Legends. It’s fine.

Waited in line for a half our for this one. SO WORTH IT

The other thing I didn’t expect was people’s reactions to my costume. I mean, PAX isn’t a big cosplay event, so I wasn’t expecting any hullabaloo. In retrospect, this was pretty dumb of me. Even if my costume is total crap, I was still dressed as one of the most popular video game characters ever.

The expo hall was full of unbelievable amounts of awesome. I saw the trailer for Watch Dogs, watched people play through Transistor and The Last of Us,lusted over Triforce necklaces and Cards Against Humanity expansion packs, and even demo’d Pikmin 3!

My favorite thing, though, was the indie game developers. The wait to try their games were short (not the two-hour lines like other games… I’m lookin’ at you, The Last of Us) and the developers were friendly and more than willing to chat. Plus, they usually gave out free candy.

I was pretty excited. Can you tell? I enjoyed myself. It might show.

The day ended nicely with a performance by Sam Hart, MC Frontalot, Jonathan Coulton, and Paul and Storm.

So that was my first PAX! Though I had a great time, I definitely needed sleep. Running around with a sword and shield all day is fun, but exhausting. I crashed at my friends’ apartment for the night and finally got a full night’s sleep for the first time in days.

I can’t remember if I have said that I really like your blog. The way you tell your stories or experiences are fun and well told. You have a way of drawing feelings on faces very well too and your excitement over things real comes through. 😀

Definitely one day! If you’re a gaming nerd, PAX is great! Not to mention that Boston is a great city– I think it’d make a good trip. 😉
And, thank you! I’m glad you think my blog is fun, since that’s my goal! And I’m really glad you said that I can draw feelings well. Growing up, my favorite thing to do was draw different facial expressions, so I’m happy that practice is paying off a bit. 😀

It would definitely be a great trip since it’s so far away from where I live and I do like games so… 😀
You’r welcome. 😉 And definitely it’s paying off and the more you draw the more you will develop they say.
I’m actually terrible at drawing humans or their facial expressions since I haven’t done it that much. Some times they work out and sometimes they don’t. *sigh*

Haha it all takes practice! As one who grew up drawing comics, I’ve practiced a lot with humans and facial expressions. (I still have a long way to go, though!)
Accordingly, I’m also really awful at drawing everything else. Like you said, when I try to draw trees or chairs or landscapes or objects, sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t. I know your feel! XD

HAHAHAHA!! Let’s see here. Besides for being jealous of you going to a gaming convention, oh yeah, I HAVE CHRONO TRIGGER!! THAT PENNY ARCADE COMIC WAS HILARIOUS, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS SO WEIRD!! ASSASSIN’S CREED IV t-SHIRT!! PICTURE ON A GAMING WEBSITE!! AN “I play video games” t-SHIRT! MAN DRESSED UP AS LLLLUUUUUUFFFFFFFYYYYYYYY!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!! STRAW HAT LUFFY!! AND A CONCERT WITH FREAKIN’ JONATHAN COULTON!!!! JONATHAN COULTON!!!! SWEET MOTHERS!! JONATHAN COULTON!!!!

“Peace off,” he says. You watch Tobuscus, don’t you? …I’ve probably asked you that before, haven’t I?
Ahahaha your comment is a pretty good embodiment of my emotional state the entire weekend! I was all like, “ASSASSIN’S CREED SHIRT!!! LUFFY!!! FREE STUFF!!! GAMES!!!! VGO!!! YEAAAAAAHHHH!!!”
And hey, I gotta keep this place PG, right? Err, that is to say, my mom reads my blog and I must keep that in mind. Though it’s pretty obvious what word I was censoring out…

Well, when the symbol you use for censoring is the letter upside down……. You’ve never asked me if I watch Tobuscus, though. Your mom reading your blog is a good thing, though. I mean, what the HECK would you be posting if she didn’t?

So, my brain is stupid enough to start thinking about another comic idea, WHEN I AM TRYING TO MAKE THE RIGHT TO BE! It’ll be about a 70-year-old-man in the far future, who helped to invent the laser gun. It will be a futuristic western. If you have seen Firefly, then you will know what I mean. But, I should not be coming up with cool new ideas. No. I SHOULD BE FIGURING OUT THE RIGHT TO BE!! AAAAAHHHHH!!!

Bless your face. If you sneezed during this comment, then bless you.
Peace off,

Wow! That sounds like it was totally cool! I couldn’t imagine going to all the trouble of making a cosplay costume to wear, but good for the perks! Also, was that a character from One Piece you got a photo with, the second photo you got with someone?

I’m not that much of a nerd (though I do listen to Wizard Rock). I couldn’t imagine going all the way down to Melbourne for PAX, no matter how awesome it sounds. But three days in a row is an impressive achievement. Please tell me you wore the shirt.

Cosplay is so much trouble! It’s embarrassing how long it took to make that costume. And yes, that is a One Piece character! Monkey D. Luffy, to be exact.
No worries, I wore the shirt. Oh, have I worn it. That and my Assassin’s Creed shirt.